Drake performed with Rihanna at the Brit Awards on Wednesday but did not stick around for the afterparty.
Instead, the Canadian rapper headed straight to Village Underground in east London to show his support to the British rap scene, making a surprise appearance at a Section Boyz gig.
Trappin ain't dead. @Drake @SectionBoyz_
It was insane...
DRAKE IS REALLY ON STAGE WITH SECTION BOYZ. cc @SectionBoyz_ @Skepta @Bonkaz
RAAAH DRAKE ON STAGE WITH SECTION BOYZ😳
Naaa drake came out at section Boyz 😳😳😳😳😳😳
As if grime fans weren't already hyped enough, Drake then announced he had signed to British grime record label Boy Better Know, founded by Skepta.
He posted a photo with the caption: "The first Canadian signed to BBK. Big up my brudda @skeptagram for life yeah. And my section gunners too."
Drake is signed to BBK. The Music game has changed differently. Big up Skepta #KING
Many saw Drake's move as a statement about the lack of diversity at the annual Brits ceremony.
People continued to use the #BritsSoWhite hashtag and British musicians took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the exclusion of internationally acclaimed UK artists such as Stormzy.
Rock band Wolf Alice said grime music "has been criminally overlooked" at this year's Brits and that it "would have been sick to walk down the red carpet with the likes of BBK or Stormzy".
Brits.
Marina and the Diamonds also spoke out about lack of diversity and called the list of nominees "sickening".
Reading about artists talking about BRIT Awards + lack of diversity. I just looked at the nominees and it’s kind of sickening…
The truth is the BRIT Awards is a CORPORATE award ceremony. Representing diversity is not a priority. Money is the priority.
Laura Mvula, who boycotted the Brits, said more work needs to be done to accurately represent UK music.
.I just think we really need to work harder at representing uk music more accurately. as a nation we have such a rich palette
In a statement on Wednesday, Brits organisers said they are working to acknowledge genres, such as grime.
The statement said:
The BRITs organisers are, therefore, and with the guidance of a new advisory committee comprising respected members of the BAME music community, exploring a number of initiatives that will enable the event to more effectively acknowledge diverse, breaking and established talent in future, including exciting genres, such as Grime, which aren't always considered mainstream but are growing in popularity.
Audiences will have to wait until 2017 to see if anything changes. Meanwhile, international artists like Drake already seem to know where the party is at.
boy better know @Drake @Skepta @SectionBoyz_ https://t.co/yVNUZPSrh3